Since this chapter and the next are both under 2,000 words each, I'll be posting both today!

Thank you my lovely readers! Hope you enjoy!

2 - The Breach

"The Temple of Sacred Ashes."

The flat-ear says it in a whisper, just loud enough for us to hear. I look upon the wreckage with revulsion. Bodies stand frozen in varying screams of pain, skin completely melted away. My heart drums against my ribs.

"What's left of it," Varric adds.

I swallow the lump that had risen in my throat.

"That is where you walked out of the Fade and our soldiers found you," Cassandra says, gesturing to the dilapidated structure. "They said a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was."

My stomach churns. I ignore it.

Cassandra leads the way through the rubble. We find a way inside, stepping over the bones of countless people. Once inside, we finally have a clear view of the massive Breach, stretching from the ground up to the sky miles above.

Varric whistles. "The Breach is a long way up."

"You're here! Thank the Maker."

I turn. Leliana and a few soldiers join us. I had officially met her back at the forward camp, listened to her argue with one of the priests against my execution. At least for now. Then Leliana had charged in with the soldiers toward the temple while we had traveled up the mountain pass to look for scouts who had gone missing.

The thought of leaving the scouts hadn't settled well in my chest. If I had caused this in any way, I couldn't bear to think of leaving more people, no matter who they were, to their deaths. I needed to right the wrongs I may have caused.

"Leliana," Cassandra says, "have your men take up positions around the temple." She then turns toward me. "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

I look up at the hole in the sky, heart pounding. "I'm assuming you have a plan to get me up there."

"No," the flat-ear says, appearing next to me. "This rift was the first and is the key. Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach."

Cassandra grabs my arm. "Then let's find a way down. And be careful."

She leads the way, winding through more bodies and rubble. I follow without speaking, my mind too full of worry. How will I do this? Closing the smaller rifts had been painful, let alone closing the massive one in front of me. Would the pain kill me?

"Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice."

The voice floats around us, booming, echoing off what is left of the walls and mountain. I freeze and my blood runs cold. Something about the voice stirs in my memories, but what I don't know. The soldiers following us raise their weapons, nock arrows.

"What are we hearing?" Cassandra asks.

The flat-ear frowns. "At a guess: the person who created the Breach."

Everyone suddenly seems on edge, walking with more care. I take a deep breath and take the lead.

I feel it before I see it. The lyrium sprouting from the ground calls to me, lighting the mana in my veins. But the song it sings isn't a pleasant one. It makes my body shiver, goose pimples rising all over my skin.

Varric growls. "You know this stuff is red lyrium (1), Seeker."

"I see it, Varric."

"But what is it doing here?"

"Magic could have drawn on lyrium beneath the temple, corrupted it…" the flat-ear says, his voice curious.

"It's evil. Whatever you do don't touch it."

"You don't need to tell me that, Varric," I mutter.

The voice from before explodes around us again. "Keep the sacrifice still."

"Someone help me!"

Cassandra goes still and gasps. "That is Divine Justinia's voice!" Her voice wavers, the pain almost tangible.

All goes quiet.

We finally drop down into the crevasse below. Almost immediately, the voices blare over our heads once again.

"Someone help me!" the Divine cries.

"What's going on here?"

My heart drops, my mouth goes dry.

"That was your voice," Cassandra gasps. "Most Holy called out to you. But…"

A bright light suddenly blinds us. I grimace, covering my eyes against it. When I look back, ghostly images stand before us.

An older woman in Chantry robes — who could only be Divine Justinia — floats above, red energy chaining her to something unseen. A large, dark figure looms over her, eyes glowing with the same red power.

Then I run into the room.

"What's going on here?"

The Divine looks toward my ghostly self. "Run while you can! Warn them!"

The swirling dark figure looks toward my ghost. "We have an intruder." It gestures toward me. "Slay the elf!"

Brightness blinds us again. The figures have gone when I open my eyes.

Cassandra leers at me, her brown eyes burning with anger and confusion. "You were there! Who attacked?! And the Divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?"

My head is pounding. My hands shake. "I don't remember!"

The flat-ear looks around. "Echoes of what happened here. The Fade bleeds into this place." He then looks at me. "This rift is not sealed, but it is closed… albeit temporarily. I believe with the mark, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side."

Cassandra shifts her stance, her face twisting into concentration. "That means demons. Stand ready!"

I ignore the people around us getting into position. I stare up at the rift, mouth dry and hands clenched at my sides.

I do not remember what the Fade has shown us. But if what it said is true, I did not start this. I had come to the aid of their Divine. Had the dark figure killed me, or at least attempted to kill me? Is that why I was in the Fade?

I'm in too deep now. I cannot walk away, no matter if it kills me. If this Breach is left to fester and swell, it will consume the entire world. I must try.

I turn to Cassandra and nod. I'm vaguely aware that she passes the message onto our comrades. The dwarf. The flat-ear. I close my eyes, sending my silent prayers to Mythal. When I open them, I see only the growing green light above.

I raise my marked hand.

The rift reacts, just as the others had. Pain shoots through me. But this time, the light pulses and grows, stretching until it finally rips open.

Something pours from the depths of the rift. Horns. Horns everywhere. Four protruding out of the top of its head, many others growing from different points all along its body. Nine eyes in the center of its face, pointed teeth behind its scaly lips.

It's a Pride Demon. I recognize it from the sketches our Keeper had shown me in our lessons.

"Now!" Cassandra screams.

This fight is one that takes all my strength and resolve. The soldiers around us help in the battle, pelting it with arrows and slashing it with swords. My mana surges with power, draining and refilling quickly because of the magic in the air. Varric yells, swinging Bianca as he runs, slamming it into the smaller demons that had followed the Pride Demon from the Fade. The flat-ear dances around the demon, freezing it, shielding all of us in magic.

It feels like hours. The demon keeps protecting itself against our weapons. The only thing that brings it down is my mark, pulling at the rift until the demon falls to its knees. But then it's back on its feet, swinging its fists, throwing bodies away from it as it recharges its shields.

Finally, the Pride Demon falls to the floor, its body dissolving into mist.

"Now! Seal the rift! Do it!" Cassandra yells.

I swing my hand up, grabbing the energy flowing from the Fade. I can feel it fighting me, sucking the life from my being as I tug. I scream as my body seizes.

Then all is black.

(1) lyrium - a mineral type substance that exists both in the physical world and the Fade that can strengthen a mage or Templar's powers; typically blue in color